Stella on helping her son buy his first home

Starting his search

Times have changed since Stella bought her first home. At the time, she was earning £15,000 as a junior chartered accountant, and was able to borrow 3 times her salary for a mortgage. As the property she wanted to buy was only worth £35,000 and she was fresh out of university with no money, she was able to borrow an additional £5,000 to get her started. 

Within the first five years, her first house had gone from £35,000 to £90,000.  

But when Stella’s son Juan started looking to get on the ladder himself, he struggled to get the mortgage he needed. The average house price is 65 times higher than it was in the 1970s, but average wages are only 36 times higher, leaving many first time buyers struggling to get on the ladder.

Today, house prices in England are on average 10.6 times people’s incomes, representing a huge affordability gap between what people can afford and how much houses cost.

For Stella, helping her son get a place of his own was beyond question, it was just a matter of working out how.

Finding Tembo

Stella found Tembo when she was searching on Google for ways parents can help their children buy a house. 

Beforehand, she had asked the mortgage broker that was linked to the estate agent she was working with if there was any way she could help her son buy. They told Stella there was no way she could support his purchase. 

That’s when Stella decided to give Tembo a go. Once she had set up the free call with one of our award-winning advisors, Stella was taken through the different options available to her and Juan.

That’s when she learnt about how she could use her income as a way to boost her son’s borrowing potential through an Income Boost. By being added to the mortgage as a guarantor, Stella’s income would be considered alongside Juan’s; with a larger total income, Juan was able to borrow more for a mortgage. 

As a guarantor, Stella has no equity in the property. Instead, she only has to step in if Juan is unable to make any of the monthly repayments. 

Learn more about how guarantor mortgages work here.

Making home happen

Stella’s dedicated Tembo advisors walked her through the pros and cons of becoming Juan’s booster. Once she was happy with her choice, they then guided her and Juan through the whole application process, right up to Juan getting his keys. 

With Tembo’s help, Juan was able to get on the property ladder and start his own homeownership journey.